Mental health system involvement in sed placement decisions

This chapter describes how consulting child psychiatrists and psychologists can best assist school teams who are evaluating students for serious emotionally disturbed (SED) placement. It presents a consultation model that is largely based on how child psychiatrists and psychologists routinely assess children and their families. The chapter reviews results from an extensive study of objective characteristics of SED students, which identified important distinguishing variables: Serious global dys-function, complex diagnostic pictures, and family stressors such as abuse and parental psychiatric illness. The treatment of SED students leaves much to be desired, particularly in regard to collaboration between educators and mental health professionals. The procedure is based on the comprehensive evaluation of a new child and family, which is typically practiced by child psychiatrists and psychologists. The diagnostic issue of conduct disorder in SED students is complex, indicating that much of the debate to exclude conduct disorder may be oversimplified.